Lavie Tidhar’s THE VIOLENT CENTURY Coming to the US!

Posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

We are very happy to report that Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press have acquired US publication rights for Lavie Tidhar‘s superb, critically-acclaimed latest novel, THE VIOLENT CENTURY. North American rights for the novel were acquired by Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher Peter Wolverton, from Hodder Books who acquired World Rights last year. The novel is due to be published in the US in hardcover, on February 24th, 2015. The new artwork is above.

In case you’ve somehow managed to miss this novel, here is the synopsis…

They’d never meant to be heroes.

For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.

But there must always be an account… and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.

Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism, – a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields – to answer one last, impossible question:

What makes a hero?

THE VIOLENT CENTURY has also been widely praised by critics and authors. Here’s just a small selection of those glowing reviews…

‘A brilliantly etched phantasmagoric reconfiguring of that most sizzling of eras – the twilight 20th… This book has it all: time travel, political intrigue, hellacious history… You’ve got superheroes in the guise of regular humans, you’ve got World War II … THE VIOLENT CENTURY is a torrid tour de force!’ — James Ellroy

‘THE VIOLENT CENTURY… may be his best yet: a blistering alt-historical retelling of a 20th century lousy with superheroes.’ — The Guardian, Best SFF of 2013

‘Vintage Lavie, and also I think his most fully accomplished novel yet. Nobody rides that fast-rolling wave separating schlocky pulp and serious literary sensibilities so deftly as Tidhar. He manages to make serious points about the benighted twentieth-century and its obsession with ‘supermen’ without ever letting the narrative slacken or the adventure pale. If Nietzche had written an X-Men storyline whilst high on mescaline, it might have read something like THE VIOLENT CENTURY.’ — Adam Roberts, author of Jack Glass

‘[A] high stakes tale of friendship and what it ultimately means to truly be a hero… Tidhar has created a book that oozes excellence in both characterisation and storytelling.’ — Huffington Post

‘THE VIOLENT CENTURY is an amazing book and as my first introduction to Lavie Tidhar’s writing I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Although I was first hesitant about the stylistic literary affectation he’s chosen to write with, once it became familiar, it felt right and each element of the writing, world and characters complemented each other wonderfully. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone.’ — J For Jetpack

‘THE VIOLENT CENTURY is an excellent novel that demonstrates, once again, the impressive versatility of its author.’ — Interzone